The Lone Human
by UncleIra055
Summary: A little interview on what goes on inside the mind the War's greatest ace. Told in the style of Max Brooks.


**LONDON, ENGLAND**

**The Winged Lion is an old bar where war veterans can be easily found sharing stories. So far, I have encountered those such as Paul Farnes and Luigi Gorrini, Chuck Yeager and Erich** **Rudorffer. The man in front of me however does not give his name. Officially, his name has remained top-secret to the public since his first appearance. Even his past is a mystery, only hinting that he was a war orphan found in London's streets and adopted by an unknown military officer. He is known only by his aircraft, a silver-finish Skyly-J2 decorated with the Black Jaguar, and his moniker, "the Teacher." It is a name given to him by both public and corporation, and it is a name he has rightly earned.**

They call me the Teacher because I'm the one that's supposed to teach them the consequences of flying against an enemy. Sounds poetic, doesn't it?

It wasn't always like this you know. I don't just mean how our war is so different from the days of conflicts past, days when actual men and actual soldiers fought and lived and died, never to return home.

**_(He takes a swallow from the lowball glass of Kentucky bourbon whiskey.)_**

I'm talking about the Kildren.

**_What about the Kildren?_**

Everything. I'm sure that it's common knowledge today how they have perfected the art of warfare. Immortal beings with DNA and genes and skills copied from deceased predecessors. Each of them fated to live forever unless killed in combat. You see them everywhere on the field near the bases. They're the soldiers, the pilots, the tank crews, everywhere. Disposable grunts born from petri dishes and growth chambers created in some freak accident by the Rostock-Lautern Tokyo Labs. It didn't use to be like that.

**_(He turns towards me.)_**

I hope you did your research. You did, didn't you?

**_Yes_**.

Then you should know that when all this began, the entire corporation was run by humans. Not just the headquarters personnel or the support crew. I'm talking about the soldiers, the pilots, everyone. Each of them was able to age and grow and mature. When they died, we sent out teams who would dress up in full garb, walk up to the next of kin's house, and say "We deeply regret to inform you blah, blah, blah." Then we'd all raise our glasses and talk about how he was our friend, and what we liked about him, and how much of a Boy Scout so-and-so was.

**_(He pauses to take another sip but instead sets it aside. The glass is half-empty now.)_**

Look at that...just look.

**_(He points towards the flat-screen at the wall. On it are the combat gains and losses statistics from the recent operation launched by Rostock. The silver insignia of the United Nations Combat Control Committee flashes above.)_**

Some of those Kildren had names once belonged to real people, people I knew and flew right alongside. Now they pump out these Kill-Dolls* on an assembly line and give them any name they want.

Back when I was with Rostock, I was once called "Lynx."

**_Your records did say…_**

Yeah, I was with Rostock. It was my first job in the war. Back then, I flew alongside some of the best young pilots in the world. I was a rookie then, a greenstick who barely knew my package from a Suiga's joystick just before they began bringing the Kill-Dolls into battle. Then the squad began to drop from the sky, one by one. It wasn't long until I was "Cheetah," the last of the Old Squad, leading a Sanka-B squadron you see today. Pretty soon, the one both sides wanted to get rid of became the one man they couldn't replace. **(He chuckles slightly then stops.)**

Of course, it doesn't make it any easier for me.

**_Could you explain that?_**

Do you what it's like; to be the one the entire world counts on? Do you know what it's like to have the weight of the world on your back? To be the one everyone counts on to keep the war going? The brass sees me as a weapon, the moneymaker, the one everyone bets on the stock markets on winning. The Kildren think I'm the freak – it gets really lonely being the last man in a war. That's why I come down here, to talk to them.

**(He motions towards Chuck Yeager laughing with two other war vets.)** They're the closest thing to people I can relate to on these things, and they're not going to last forever. The Kildren only see it as a job. That's why they're always forever young, and expendable to boot. It's to keep them in the illusion of innocence. Because they can't mature or grow up properly, the realization of such things drives them mad.

That's why I'm the ace, because I can understand.

Of course, it does get real lonely up there, and even I have my moments.

**_Is there any chance you could be any more specific?_**

Let's just say there were…personal reasons why I left for Lautern. And no, I won't be the one that tells you about.

**_(He finishes the glass, and looks at me. His eyes have the look of a haunted man.)_**

Do you know why we wage this war?

**_(Before I can answer…)_**

Then let me tell you. Throughout human history, it has been in human nature to wage war against itself. It doesn't matter what the reasons are – food, wealth, greed, power, land, anything. If you look back to our beginnings, you will see that the first thing we humans learned to do was kill. Kill or be killed. Now we talk about how we all want peace in the world. The fact is however, it's not that simple. How do you shape the world the humans into something that goes against all that we are – killers and warriors? That's what this is about.

**_(He fixes me with an icy stare.)_**

Humanity can never be content with true peace – it goes against its very nature, no matter how much we hate it. If we cannot live with the knowledge that somewhere, out there, humans are out killing and fighting somewhere without actually seeing it, we cannot be at peace. Have you ever read a history book? Have you ever felt that it just didn't seem real, that it just seemed like fiction? That is why Rostock exists, why Lautern exists, why I exist. We wage war so some selfish bastard can sit at a table and say, "I sure am glad it's quiet down here."

All the Kildren did was made things easier. By cloning deceased pilot and soldiers, no one would ever have to worry about Deeply Regrets messages and teary-eyed relatives and funerals. It was just another thing that made this too different from the old days.

Of course, that presents a problem. Sooner or later, wars by humans end. The U.N.'s goal was to fake a Third World War that would never end. Ergo, one side would need an enemy that no one could ever defeat. They needed an enemy whose skills were unmatched, who was the key to an entire army's survival. It sounds like crap, but it does make sense.

**_(The Teacher gets down from the stool and pays the bill._**

That's where I come in.

**Note: Before leaving me, the Teacher passes me a clue to my next interviews with Rostock, mentioning four names: Brigadier General Kayaba, Flight Lieutenant Midori Mitsuya, Flight Officer Isamu Hiragi, and Base Commander Suito Kusanagi. His final words to me were:**

**"Say hello to her kid for me."**


End file.
